When the Universe Died
by Mage-Alia
Summary: When the Universe died, two men sat in the bar at its very edge watching as the stars blinked out.


Harry Potter / Fate Stay/Night Crossover

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Disclaimer: I own neither of the characters or concepts borrowed in this story and make no profit from their use.

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When the Universe Died

By: Mage-Alia

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When the Universe died, two men sat in the bar at its very edge watching as the stars blinked out.

A large window took up most of one wall, chairs had been left by patrons hours ago as the bartender had turned the open sign closed and ushered the last of the existences out to see their ends. Gods that had toasted their oblivion, time lords that had come to watch. Travelers that had been from one end of the verse to the other in immortal lifetimes that would shortly end. The last one out the door had been a very drunken god who's people still prayed to him until the very end. He'd celebrated their longevity and even as he'd faded in his seat, was proud of them for making it this far.

In the quiet left after the last disc in the jukebox had played, the bartender cleaned his glass and watched his final patron as he upended a bag of peanuts over his mouth.

"So. What are you planning to do once this place shuts down?" The Red eyed gentleman asked, throwing the empty bag aside and nursing a beer. The bartender shrugged, putting the last glass away and exchanging the dishtowel for a broom. Moving out onto the barroom floor, he began putting the chairs up on the tables so he could sweep.

"Move onto the next one. I guess." _Swish Swish._ The broom gathered the dust and it piled neatly into a dustpan. The Red-Eyed man rolled his eyes.

"You're no fun." He muttered. "I don't see why you like to do this manually. Where's the fun in a linear timeline? It just takes forever to reach the good parts and when you do you've forgotten what you were even waiting for. It's just so... Boring." He sighed dramatically and the Bartender huffed, amused.

"You'll keep me company, won't you?" Green eyes danced. "I'm sure you'll find your way back and remind me." He'd done it often enough in the millennia leading to this moment. The old vampire liked to live moment to moment. All lights and fun and explosives. Pranks and upsets of the continuum. It made the bartender laugh in the quiet moments when he'd stop working to look in on his friend. The alien ancestor had spent so long, looking for someone else who might be even the slightest bit like himself. Hell, even another inheritor of the Kaleidoscope would have kept him amused by sheer virtue of existing. He'd spent his own millennia alive, eagerly looking for further amusement or oblivion. Even now, once all the other existences had been blotted out by the wave of void that rolled toward them, he flirted with his own end.

He could leave whenever he wanted, he wasn't tied to the fate of this universe anymore, but he did stay for his friend.

The Bartender of the Bar At The End Of The Universe.

He huffed dramatically and flopped over the bar.

"Which one was next again?" He muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Trying to remember an order of events that he usually ignored, passing them over for the more interesting parts. It was a wonder the Wizard Marshal could even remember which timeline he was in, given how often he skipped out on any of them. Then again, there was only one constant in any Universe, so he supposed it didn't really matter if he knew or not.

"One of yours I believe." The Bartender muttered, eyes going to the mirror behind the bar, catching glimpses of his own future in the glass. "I can feel the magic from here and it's not even born yet." The Ancestor perked up at that.

"Oh? Oh! Indeed!" He leapt off his stool, finishing his drink and snatching the rest of the peanuts from the box beside the till. "You know what, I think I'm going to go ahead." He was fast becoming manic and it didn't seem to matter that his metabolism was to powerful for alcohol, he may as well have been drunk. "Do come visit will you? I know you have some minions around here who could watch the bar for a while, you don't need to be here all the time. I'll show you what you're missing!"

Before he could even get a word in edgewise, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg was grabbing his coat and out the door as the wave of existence finally rolled against the large windows, leaving nothing but a void of black.

The Bartender just smiled and finished sweeping. His every move loud in the silence as he finished and put the broom back in the cupboard. He counted his till and enclosed the eclectic collection of old coins, futuristic credit cards and bartered goods in the old safe in the back of the kitchen.

It was then, with his coat over his arm, he went to the door. Turning off the lights, one by one, until the only one left was the tiny fluorescent sign over the entrance, the only light for an eternity in any direction. Not that there were directions anymore. This universe had taken a long time to die, but when it did it was left with nothing but his bar and silence. He smiled to himself as he turned off the last light and locked the door, stepping away from that reality as his power pulled away from the structure and it ceased to exist.

In the void, nothing moved. There was no up, there was no down, and for a whole new eternity there was nothing.

And then there was a door.

Big and made of stone, like the vaguest concept of a door given shape. It slowly gained more detail and as he stepped up to the threshold he let out a breath. Energy rushed away from him. Walls, doors, windows, grew from that threshold and extended out beyond. Stars flickered to life in the distance and an explosion took place. He exhaled into the new cosmos and with his breath came life. Souls expanding ever outward to their furthest reaches and then back to where they began.

It was a cycle that had happened many times before, and it was one he'd never grow tired of seeing.

He turned and the key he'd used to lock the bar opened the tea shop in front of him.

It was the work of a moment to flick the lights on, hang his coat by the door and walk behind the counter. The kitchen lay beyond, still in the way of something that he never been used. All shiny and new.

Soon there were pastries in the cabinets, the machines were warm and he went to the window, flicking the sign hanging from the frame to 'Open'. He was barely back to the till when the bell above the door jingled and in stumbled the first Customer.

"Harry! How did you even do that?! How could you possibly subvert that many spirits all at once? Did you cheat? You cheated! Tell me how your future self cheats!" He grinned back at the suffering form of his Vampire friend as he ranted spoilers to the empty cafe.

Harry Potter had been the Master of death for many many lifetimes, but there was something nice about a nice new universe. But as much as each changed, there were always things that would stay the same.

"I'll remember I need to cheat then. Thank you for letting me know we'll be competing next time I'm on earth."

After all, it had been a while since he'd had a vacation.

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A/N: XD

So this one is a bit more plotbunny than story. It's actually a concept I found in a Neil Gaiman story (and one by Douglas Adams if you get the reference XD ). If you're familiar with The Endless, then you may have read a description of Death and how she'd be the one Sweeping the floors and locking the door on the way out of the universe when it finally ended. In my headcannon here, Harry inherited her position in much the same way as Daniel inherited Dream's domain and continued the legacy. Somewhere along the line he meets Zelretch hopping around the multiverse and the troll becomes his best customer.

I don't think I'll be continuing this for now. I don't really have any solid directions to take it in or what Zelretch might do to someone particularly unfortunate in the Fate universe to amuse his friend. Maybe he'd convince Harry to get summoned in a grail war so he could watch the fireworks up close and personal? *shrugs*

Anyway, as always, this will be cross posted to my A03 account under the name Auraion, so don't be surprised if it looks familiar.

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Don't forget to Review.

Cya


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